As our Fort Lauderale personal injury lawyers can explain, many underlying legal principles, causes of action and deadlines are the same. But when a victim is a minor, there may be some special considerations and extensions.

Here, we detail three ways that Florida child injury lawsuits may be different than adult personal injury filings.

1. Statute of Limitations for Child Injuries in Florida

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For the most part, the statute of limitations (the window of time during which one has the right to file legal action) for child injury claims is the same as it is for adults. F.S. 95.11 gives claimants up to two years to file claims founded in negligence (which are most personal injury claims), medical malpractice, and wrongful death. (It used to be four years. If the incident occurred on or before March 24, 2023, you may still have up to four years to file. But it’s best not to wait, if you can.)

This is a pretty hard deadline. However, some circumstances will give rise to a pausing or “tolling” of the statute of limitations. One of those special circumstances is when a person under the age of 18 is the one who was injured. F.S. 95.051(i) allows up to 7 years from the “cause of action” (usually the date of the accident or wrongdoing). However, this exception only applies if the child’s parent, guardian or guardian ad litem:

• Does not exist.
• Has in interest that is adverse to that of the child.
• Has been deemed incapacitated to sue by a court.

These are fairly narrow exceptions. For the most part, the statute of limitations for Florida child injury claims will still be 2 years unless some other exception (fraud, concealment, etc.) applies.

Another possible extension might be found under the statute of repose discovery rule. This is primarily going to apply to birth injury lawsuits, wherein the effect of negligence or its cause is not apparent until much later. While the statute of repose for most medical malpractice cases is up to 4 years, it can be up to 8 years (no later than the child’s 8th birthday) for birth injury claims.

2. Minors Cannot File an Injury Lawsuit or Claim

A child who is under the age of 18 in Florida lacks the legal standing to file a claim or lawsuit for personal injuries. But that doesn’t mean they should wait until they’re 18 to explore filing. (In fact, they may lose the opportunity forever if they don’t act soon enough.) The solution is in F.S. 744.301. It allows for the child’s natural guardians (i.e., their parents) the authority to pursue and settle any claim on behalf of their child, so long as it doesn’t exceed $15,000. This includes personal injury claims, life insurance policies, etc. for which they can collect, receive, manage, and dispose of the proceeds.

Of course, many Florida personal injury claims can easily exceed $15,000. In this case, parents can still pursue such claims, but they need court approval to do so, and funds may be held in a restricted bank account or annuity (from which necessary and reasonable withdrawals can only be made for the child’s benefit). This additional step is another reason parents of a child who has been injured should seek prompt legal advice. Your personal injury lawyer can help guide you through this process.

It’s worth noting that parents, too, may have their own claims for medical bills or other losses that they personally incurred as a result of the child’s injury.

3. The “Reasonable Person” Standard Considers a Child’s Age, Maturity

In many Florida personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits, a key defense is to argue that the plaintiff (person hurt) or decedent acted outside the bounds of what the average person would consider reasonable. This is known as the “reasonable person” standard. But children are not held to the same standard of “reasonableness” of the average adult. They may be held to the standard of what is reasonable for an average child of their age, maturity and intelligence.

There are even specific statutes that expressly take a child’s ability to reason into account. For example, F.S. 768.05 grants immunity to property owners when trespassers are hurt — except where children may have been enticed by an “attractive nuisance” for which they are not able to fully appreciate the danger. This could include anything from swimming pools to trampolines to abandoned refrigerators or airtight units. Because such features may be enticing to curious kids who can’t appreciate the risks, property owners have a duty to take extra care in preventing children from trespassing on their property and getting hurt. Example: A property owner with a swimming pool should have sufficient gates, alarms and other security features that would prevent kids from easily gaining access.

If your child has been injured in South Florida, our Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers at The Ansara Law Firm can help answer your questions about the viability and potential value of an injury lawsuit filed on their behalf.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Safe Kids Florida, Florida Department of Health

More Blog Entries:

Hiring a Broward Injury Lawyer: FAQ on Free Initial Consultations, Jan. 10, 2023, Broward Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Florida Truck Accident Statistics

Every day, operators of large trucks traversing our nation’s roads are the cause of serious crashes resulting in extensive property damage, serious injury, and tragic deaths. The term “large trucks” refers to medium or heavy trucks (excluding buses and motor homes) with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000+ pounds. This can include both commercial and non-commercial vehicles.

According to the National Safety Council, there were 5,700 large trucks involved in large crashes in 2021 – which represented an 18 percent increase from 2020 and a nearly 50 percent increase over the last decade. Part of the explanation for this rise is the fact that there are more large trucks on the road. But even so, the involvement rate per 100 million large truck miles has also increased – up 7 percent from 2020 and 22 percent over the last 10 years.

Big trucks are involved in 9 percent of all fatal crashes.

Specifically in Broward County, there were a total of 4,111 commercial vehicle crashes in 2021. These resulted in 820 injuries and 12 deaths. That’s just a snapshot of a single Florida county, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Statewide, according to the NHTSA, large trucks were involved in more than 350 traffic deaths in a single recent year.

Differences in Broward Truck Accident vs. Car Accident Claims

If you’re injured in a Broward truck accident, you may have grounds for filing a civil claim for financial compensation – same as you would if you were involved in a car accident. You’ll still need to prove negligence (and strongly dispute any allegations of contributory negligence), as well as the extent of your injuries to establish your right to collect damages. But there are a number of ways in which truck crash cases differ from your typical car accident claim.

Among them: more

Severity.

Broward truck accident injuries are almost assuredly going to be more serious than your typical car accident, by virtue of the simple fact that commercial trucks are so much larger/heavier than passenger cars (20-30x the size). Being involved in a crash with a passenger car is more likely than being involved in a truck accident – but you’re far more likely to suffer catastrophic injuries in the latter. That also means that the financial stakes are going to be higher – so you’re more likely to be met with a vigorous defense.

Insurance Coverage.

Commercial vehicles carry much more insurance than is required for passenger vehicle owners/drivers. While all Florida motorists must carry $10,000 in personal injury protection benefits (paid out to insured regardless of fault), most aren’t required to carry bodily injury liability coverage (though it’s a very good idea). Commercial trucks, meanwhile, generally need to carry $300,000 in bodily injury liability – minimum. Some may be required to carry more if they’re freight vehicles ($750,000), oil carriers ($1 million), or hazardous materials ($500,000).

Complexity.

It’s also possible that you’ll be dealing with more than one defendant/insurance company because truck accidents may have multiple defendants, including the driver, the truck owner (which may/may not be the employer of the driver), the supplier, and the carrier.

We also need to look carefully at the circumstances of the crash because that may go a long way toward establishing liability toward third parties. For example, did the trucking company employer/contractor schedule the driver for too many back-to-back shifts or unrealistic deadlines, leading to fatigue/distraction/speeding?

Cause.

In order to collect damages in a Broward truck accident case, we need to prove fault. And in order to figure out who’s to blame, we need to know what caused the crash. Sometimes there are multiple factors. Large trucks must be driven with extreme care because their size makes them harder to facilitate fast maneuvers, such as turning or stopping quickly. For this reason, commercial vehicle drivers are held to higher standards with regard to how much caution they’re expected to use. Going slightly over the speed limit, failing to check mirrors before switching lanes, driving with very little sleep – all of this can be the basis for finding fault.

But we also now as Broward truck accident lawyers must aggressively defend against allegations of contributory negligence, particularly since Florida law changed to allow for cases to be completely barred from any recovery altogether if it’s found a plaintiff is 50 percent or more at-fault.

Bottom line: Truck accident cases are inherently going to be more work than typical crash claims. It’s important to hire an injury lawyer with extensive experience in handling cases with extensive experience in successfully handling such high-stakes, complicated claims.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Large Trucks, Traffic Safety Facts, National Safety Council

More Blog Entries:

Will a Pre-Existing Injury Kill Your Fort Lauderdale Injury Claim? June 10, 2023, Broward Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reported the Jan. 19th death of 25-year-old Anton Walkes, a Major League Soccer player from the Charlotte Football Club, was the result of two vessels colliding near Miami Marine Stadium a day earlier. He was found unconscious on the scene, received CPR, and was hospitalized in critical condition before dying the following day. The English citizen had been in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale region for a two-week training camp. He left behind not only his team, but his parents, two siblings, long-time partner, and young daughter.

He was a passenger on an 11-foot personal watercraft operated by a 32-year-old German woman when it collided with a 46′ cabin boat operated by a 69-year-old Florida man. It’s unknown yet whether alcohol was a factor, and the investigation remains open. Worth noting is the fact that local advocacy groups have complained extensively about reckless boating and boat congestion in the marine channel where the fatal boating accident occurred.

Annual Florida Boating Accidents

Florida leads the nation for the most registered vessels (985,000+) as well as the most reportable boating accidents (836 in 2020). According to the FWC, collision with another vessel (as was the case in the crash that killed Walkes) was the No. 1 type of Florida boating accident, accounting for 27 percent of all reportable incidents. While personal watercraft (Jet Skis, Sea Doos, etc.) account for about 15 percent of all registered vessels in Florida, they are involved in 27 percent of all reportable boating accidents. In 2020, there were 15 deaths and 183 injured in boating accidents involving personal watercraft. Nearly 40 percent of all personal watercraft boating accidents occurred in Miami-Dade County.

Some 17,700+ personal watercraft are registered in Miami-Dade County, with about 500 of those being rentals. In a single recent year (2020), these were involved in 41 reported boating accidents in Miami-Dade, including 35 injuries and one death.

Annually, there are an estimated 550 boating accident injuries and 80 boating accident deaths.

Liability for Miami Boating Accidents

Legal responsibility (also known as liability) for a Florida boating accident depends largely on the cause. If it is determined that the cause of the accident – or exacerbation of injuries – was the the fault of someone who failed to exercise reasonable care when they had a duty to do so, that individual may be held liable.more

That could be the operator of one vessel or the other or both, if there’s evidence they operated the vehicles recklessly, without due care, or while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Some homeowners’ insurance policies will cover boat accidents, but extensive liability restrictions may substantially limit available coverage. A separate policy covering the boat is typically advised. Liability boat insurance isn’t required in Florida, but a lot of boat owners do carry it.

If a charter boat company was involved, they may be liable – for improperly vetting or training employees, poorly maintaining or equipping vessels, being careless in renting vessels, or not properly supervising their workers or others when they have a responsibility to do so. Most of these cases will stem from incidents of negligence (failure to use reasonable care resulting in injury to another), but may also involve vicarious liability. Employers can be vicariously liable (meaning you don’t have to prove wrongdoing) for the negligence or recklessness of employees acting in the course and scope of employment.

In rare cases where the design or manufacture of a boat or some boating apparatus was the cause of someone’s injury, one may file a product liability claim.

If you or a loved one is harmed in a Miami boating accident, speaking with a South Florida wrongful death/personal injury lawyer can help bring your legal options into sharper focus.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Boating Fatalities 2020, FWC

Personal Watercraft Accidents 2020, FWC

More Blog Entries:

Hiring a Broward Injury Lawyer: FAQ on Free Initial Consultations, Jan. 10, 2023, Miami Boating Accident Lawyer Blog

An example of this was seen recently in the $8.2 million Florida wrongful death lawsuit against a bridge operation company facing allegations of negligence in the death of a 79-year-old West Palm Beach bicyclist who died after plummeting from a bridge that was abruptly raised while she was in the midst of crossing it. She’d been just 10 feet away from the edge of the bridge when she fell to her death in the gap. The bridge tender at the time of the incident has been arrested and faces a single count of manslaughter by culpable negligence. (She told investigators she had gone outside to visually check that the bridge was clear before raising it, but video evidence and other testimony have thus far contradicted this, according to local news sources.)

Meanwhile, the decedent’s family filed a Florida wrongful death lawsuit against the bridge tender’s employer, a company called Florida Drawbridges, Inc. Plaintiffs in this case not only sought monetary damages for their lawsuit, but also industry-accepted safety changes to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again to another Florida family. In their filing, the family specifically stated they wanted an outcome that resulted in “change to preclude this preventable tragedy from occurring in the future.”

Ultimately, that’s what they got in addition to the $8.2 million settlement. Among the procedural changes that the defendant drawbridge company agreed to undergo:

• Subjecting all bridge tender applicants to successfully pass criminal background checks.
• To schedule recertification training with all current bridge tenders.
• To facilitate periodic audits of operations with out-of-area supervisors.
• To require all bridge tenders to watch a 23-minute video on the decedent’s life, driving home the profound price one family paid because one of its bridgetenders allegedly failed to use due caution.

The family reportedly donated a significant portion of the settlement proceeds – including the creation of an annual $30,000 scholarship that will carry on for the next three decades. As the family’s wrongful death attorney was quoted as saying, the family wanted fundamental changes to be central to this settlement agreement. “At the end of the day, we got those changes. Hopefully at the end of the day, this never happens to another family.”

Damages in Florida Wrongful Death Lawsuits

Proving wrongful death in Florida (as codified in F.S. 786.16 – 786.26) requires evidence that:more

• A death occurred.
• The defendant owed a duty of care to decedent.
• An act or omission by the defendant breached that duty of care.
• The wrongful act was the direct cause of the fatal injury to decedent.
• Financial damage resulted from the injury or death.

As our Broward wrongful death lawyers can explain, when these cases are settled or won at trial, the takeaway for the plaintiffs is referred to as “damages.” Damages can be paid for things like medical bills, lost wages, funeral costs, loss of earning potential, pain and suffering of the decedent, loss of consortium (of the decedent’s spouse or children), loss of prospective net accumulations of an estate, etc.

Survivors who may bring a wrongful death action in Florida include a decedent’s spouse, children, parents or other blood relatives or adoptive siblings. (This is not applicable for medical malpractice wrongful death cases, for which only spouses and children under age 25.)

Even though no amount of money is going to bring back a loved one, the courts quantify these damages in dollar amounts. And financial compensation is important for many families in wrongful death litigation, particularly if the decedent suffered a long illness (racking up lots of medical debt) or was a primary wage earner/caregiver within the family. But as the aforementioned case shows, wrongful death claims can also be opportunities to compel important change.

It’s important to discuss your primary goals with your wrongful death lawyer at the outset of your case.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

F.S. 768.21, Florida Statute Wrongful Death Damages

More Blog Entries:

How Fort Lauderdale Pedestrian Accident Victims Can Obtain Compensation for Injuries, Jan. 15, 2022, Broward Wrongful Death Attorney Blog

Dump trucks carry heavy, uneven loads and are known to make frequent stops. They’re often out early in the morning, when streets are still dark. Drivers who work long hours, making them more prone to fatigued driving. All these issues lead to outsized danger when you’re dealing with a dump truck, a Class 8 vehicle that can weigh 33,000 pounds or more.

Dump Trucks and Garbage Trucks are Considered “Large Trucks”

Dump trucks and garbage trucks aren’t the same as the big rigs and 18-wheelers you spot barreling down the highway, but legally, they’re in the same category as other “large trucks.” Weight is the primary determining factor in terms of what is considered a “large truck” by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Vehicles with a gross weight of 10,000 pounds or more is considered a “large vehicle.”

Per the FMCSA, Large Truck Traffic Safety Facts, more than 70 percent of the people who die in crashes involving large trucks are the people in the other vehicle. Nearly 160,000 people are injured in large truck accidents each year in the U.S. In three-fourths of deadly crashes involving large trucks, the truck involved weighed more than 26,000 pounds, placing them in the “heavy” large truck category.

Despite the massive size and weight, dump trucks are used to make repeated trips between construction sites, suppliers, and waste drop-off points. Repeated trips increase the potential for collisions. Drivers are often under significant pressure to get the job done, leading to dangerous actions behind the wheel, including speed, distraction, and aggressive driving.

Another significant danger with dump trucks is that in their rush, dump truck drivers sometimes travel with loads that are uncovered. This can result in debris falling off onto the road – and into the path of falling traffic. This creates a serious road hazard that puts others’ lives at risk.

Garbage trucks, meanwhile, are similar to dump trucks in that they are considered heavy vehicles, though as Class 7 vehicles, they tend to weigh in at slightly less, between 26,000 to 33,000 pounds. The disparity of weight and mass between a garbage truck and passenger vehicle, pedestrian or bicyclist makes a collision with one incredibly dangerous. Data from the FMCSA reports that in a single recent year, more than 100 garbage/refuse truck deaths and more than 1,400 injuries. A quarter of those killed were sanitation workers. An analysis by OSHA on garbage truck accidents reveals dozens of fatal or serious injuries among employees in one year.

Examples of Florida dump truck accidents just in the last few weeks include:

• A dump truck crash in Broward County on I-75 near Miramar Parkway lead to the truck overturning, spilling its contents onto the highway.
• A 67-year-old man died and two others were hospitalized with serious injuries in a Land O’ Lakes dump truck crash involving three vehicles on SR 52 in August. Troopers reported the truck driver didn’t see stopped traffic ahead of him until it was too late.
• Nearly a dozen people were injured in a Daytona Beach dump truck crash when the truck driver slammed into several vehicles and failed to stop at the scene of the crash.
• A 53-year-old Silver Springs man was killed in September after crashing into a dump truck.
• One person died and another suffered critical injuries in May when an SUV collided with a dump truck in Gainesville.
• A construction worker was struck and killed by a dump truck in Orlando in October.
• A North Fort Myers man was critically injured in October after his SUV collided with a dump truck in Cape Coral.
• A man died in January in a Tampa crash when a dump truck reportedly pulled in front of the victim’s pickup on I-75. Several others were injured.

Causes of Dump Truck Accidents and Garbage Truck Accidents

All commercial vehicle operators, including those steering garbage and dump trucks, must comply with federal and state training guidelines, pass a CDL knowledge and skills test and clear a physical fitness test. Despite all this, drivers of dump trucks and garbage trucks still cause Florida truck accidents. More often than not, crashes can be traced back to driver error. Alcohol and drug impairment are frequently cited, as are speeding, drowsy driving, distracted driving, and failure to adequately secure cargo.

If you’re injured in a Fort Lauderdale truck accident or have lost someone to a fatal truck accident, our experienced Broward injury lawyers can work to help you secure fair compensation for your losses.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Family, Cleveland Schools mourn loss of science teacher killed in dump truck accident, Nov. 5, 2021, By Kevin Freeman, FOX 8

In a single recent year, there were more than 500,000 crashes involving large trucks, including more than 4,500 that were fatal and 107,000 that resulted in injuries. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the majority of those injured or killed in these collisions (82 percent) are the people in other vehicles. The number of fatal truck crashes per people in the U.S. has risen 27 percent since 2010.more

The most common causes in large truck accidents are:

• Fatigue.
• Distraction.
• Alcohol or drug use/impairment.
• Speeding.
• Speeding & overtaking.

Determining Fault in Florida Truck Accidents

The very first step in any Florida injury or wrongful death case is determining fault. This is true for any kind of crash. Florida is a no-fault state, meaning that your own personal injury protection (PIP) insurance will kick in first to cover up to $10,000 in damages. In a semi-truck accident, this is usually nowhere near enough to cover all of your losses. F.S. 627.737(2) allows those who have suffered serious, lasting injuries in traffic accidents to pursue claims against the at-fault driver(s) beyond what PIP offers.

Insurance companies may offer a settlement, but it’s important to talk to an experienced truck accident attorney before signing anything because your case could be worth much more than what’s being offered.

Usually the only type of collision wherein there is a presumption of liability is a rear-end collision. In fact there is a name for it: A rebuttable presumption. This means if the semi-truck rear-ends you, there is a presumption that the truck driver was liable. This presumption can be rebutted with evidence, but it’s difficult to overcome.

Beyond that, the nature of the investigation might be simple (where on the vehicle did the impact take place?). More often, though, it involves complex measurements, analyses and expert witness testimony. Surveillance footage (including red light cameras), vehicle instrument recordings, cell phone logs and other information may be used for the court to make a determination.

Truck accident cases often involve multiple defendants, including:

• The truck owner.
• The owner of the cargo.
• The driver (often an independent contractor/separate from the owner of the truck/carrier).
• The manufacturer of the truck.

Whereas insurers in regular car accident cases may not push for an investigation (it may be more time/expense than the claim is worth), semi-truck crash cases are typically investigated much more thoroughly because of what is at stake. Commercial trucking companies are required to maintain between $300,000 and $5 million in insurance coverage, depending on the type of cargo they’re hauling.

If the insurance companies involved find any reason to believe the injured claimant was at-fault, they could decline payment altogether, which could tack on more time. Many commercial truck insurers cover the cost of not only the injuries but the cargo that may have been lost. That could prove a substantial sum, so they’ll look for any reason to avoid paying a settlement.

The Extent of Your Injuries

The substantial injuries typically incurred in a truck accident can also impact the amount of time a case will take. Bigger trucks result in more substantial injuries. These must be carefully documented to ensure a fair settlement. But insurers will insist on closely examining these as well. If there is any evidence that some injuries were pre-existing or aren’t serious as one claims, insurers will not agree to pay what is being asked of them.

It should be noted that pre-existing injuries that are aggravated by the truck accident can still be covered.

Although many crash cases are settled out-of-court, truck accident cases may be more likely to go to trial given what is at stake. In some cases, the insurer will agree the truck driver was at-fault but will dispute the extent of the plaintiff’s losses/damages. Settling a Fort Lauderdale truck accident case can take years, and a trial will take even longer.

The good news is that you do not have to pay your injury lawyer upfront. Your attorney is paid on a contingency fee basis, meaning you do not pay attorneys’ fees unless/until you win.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts 2018, FMCSA

More Blog Entries:

South Florida Car Accident Compensation Could Change With Auto Insurance Reform, Jan. 2, 2020, Fort Lauderdale Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

The right of survivors to claim damages is one of two kinds of wrongful death lawsuits in Florida. The other is an estate claim that seeks recovery of damages on the decedent’s behalf.

The Fort Lauderdale wrongful death attorneys at The Ansara Law Firm can help you determine the right of each survivor affected following the death of a loved one due to another’s negligence, recklessness and/or violence. We can also help you determine which kind of wrongful death lawsuit makes the most sense to pursue.

Florida law regarding the civil rights of fetuses can be a touchy subject, but statute does make it clear that a child who was not yet born when a parent died still has the right to pursue wrongful death damages – as long as they are eventually born.more

The Florida “Born Alive” Doctrine

In examining the rights of minor children to seek compensation for injury to parents – or injury to themselves, we start with the 1976 ruling in Day v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co..Florida’s 2nd District Court of Appeals in that case held that a child born alive can pursue damages for its own injuries that occurred when it was a fetus – or any time after conception – regardless of viability. In its reasoning, the court held that if a child is born alive, there is a relation-back to the time of injuries, giving an infant a cause of action in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.

Children can also recover damages for the wrongful death of a parent shortly before birth. This is spelled out in the Florida Wrongful Death Act, and was interpreted by the Florida’s 5th District Court of Appeals in the 1990 case of Ellis v. Humana of Fla., Inc.. The trial court had granted summary judgment for the defense on a claim filed on behalf of an infant for damages on the death of a father killed six weeks before the baby was born. Defendants had argued that the child was not a “minor” or “survivor” within the plain meaning of the Wrongful Death Act, and that if lawmakers had intended unborn fetuses to be protected under the law, they’d have expressly done so. The 5th DCA rejected this argument, noting the Wrongful Death Act is remedial in nature, so it’s supposed to be liberally construed. Once born alive, the child has a right of action.

A child born alive can also receive compensation for a parent’s injury or death under Florida’s workers’ compensation law, as was noted in the 1942 Florida Supreme Court case of C.F. Wheeler Co. v. Pullins.

Loss of Consortium

In personal injury and wrongful death cases, one type of damage that can be recovered is for loss of consortium, which is when significant permanent injury or death resulting from negligence deprives a dependent of services, comfort, companionship, society and support.

Although Florida’s common law doesn’t establish any right of children to claim loss of consortium for the death or serious injury of a parent, F.S. 768.0415 passed in 1988 does.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Samarel v. Garner, 2005, Florida Supreme Court

But does this right of action still exist if the person who died took their own life?

Florida wrongful death attorneys will tell you that in some cases, the answer is yes. Some wrongful death/suicide cases are predicated on the assertion a defendant owed a duty of care to prevent the suicide, as they were placed on notice of the risk and had a special relationship with decedent (i.e., a schoolteacher, guidance counselor, medical professional, etc.). Other times, the assertion is that but-for the defendant’s actions, decedent would not have tried to harm themselves.

Other district courts have weighed this in the context of “imminent threats” of suicide versus “non-imminent threats.” One case cited occasionally by Fort Lauderdale wrongful death attorneys handling suicide cases is a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit held a school district could be held liable for the death of a 13-year-old who committed suicide by hanging in his backyard. The court cited evidence school officials were made aware of troubling incidents at school that may have indicated the potential for self-harm, yet failed to act – despite having a duty to do so.

Wrongful Death Suicide Claim Against Car Manufacturer

Recently, the South Carolina Supreme Court was asked to consider whether an automobile manufacturer could be held legally responsible for losses related to the wrongful death of a man involved in an auto accident and severely injured when his airbag proved defective.

His widow sued on behalf of her lost husband’s estate, arguing that the pain was so bad after the crash that he was unable to bear it any longer.

Defense attorneys argued the man’s suicide was an intervening cause that broke the chain of causation between the crash and his death. Plaintiff argued the man’s pain – caused by the crash – resulted pain so severe, he developed an uncontrollable impulse to harm himself.

Plaintiff doesn’t allege the manufacturer actually caused the crash, but did make his crash injuries more severe. Jurors sided with the plaintiff, and the auto maker appealed to the federal court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit then certified several questions to the state supreme court.

As noted in a recent analysis by the Northwestern University Law Review, each case involving wrongful death suicide needs to be considered on the special facts belonging to it, rather than try to strictly follow traditional tort rules.

Plaintiffs need to establish proximate cause which is legal cause and proof-in-fact, meaning it needs to be more than an indirect/remote cause and the injury was foreseeable.

Justices pointed out there is no exception recognized in that state wherein suicide necessarily breaks the “chain of causation,” but instead consider whether the facts support a finding of probable cause. The court further held that whether the initial proof burden as to whether a suicide is wrongful death is a matter of law for judges – not juries – to decide.

Further, as to whether the comparative negligence could be considered causal in a crashworthiness strict liability/breach of warranty claims when damages are being sought solely for enhanced injuries – not causation – the court answered “no.” In other words, whatever plaintiff did or didn’t do to cause the crash, that comparative negligence – plaintiff’s or another defendant’s – doesn’t reduce a manufacturer’s liability with regard to enhanced injuries. That matters in this case because enhanced injuries are what decedent’s widow – and the jury – had argued were causal in his suicide.

Although this decision doesn’t directly impact Florida (as it is subject to neither the South Carolina Supreme Court’s rulings nor those of the 4th DCA), it is still a pertinent ruling in that sister courts often look to each other when handling future cases of similar substance.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Wickersham v. Ford Motor Co., July 24, 2019, South Carolina Supreme Court

Our Fort Lauderdale truck accident lawyers don’t find this surprising at all, in particular after viewing the latest U.S. Department of Transportation data on Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Analysis Division.

The data shows there were nearly 4,900 trucks and buses involved in deadly crashes in 2017 – which was a 9 percent increase from the number recorded just a year earlier. Further, the number of large trucks (defined as those over 10,000 pounds) and buses involved in fatal crashes spiked 42 percent from the record low of 3,432 in 2009.

If there is any silver lining, it is perhaps that the 2017 high is still 7 percent lower from the all-time peak in 2005, when 5,321 large trucks and buses were involved in deadly crashes.

It’s not even the fact that large trucks and buses are being increasingly utilized. When factoring truck accident and bus accident deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, the number of deadly truck crashes was still up nearly 7 percent from 2016 to 2017.

With regard just to bus crashes, intercity buses accounted for 13 percent of fatal crashes from 2007 to 2017, while school buses and transit buses accounted for 40 percent and 35 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the number of large trucks involved in deadly wrecks rose by 10 percent during this same time frame.

In Florida, large trucks were involved in a low of 181 deadly crashes in both 2008 and 2009, but that has since risen to 292 as of 2017 – a 63 percent increase.

Why Florida Large Truck Crashes are Tougher to Litigate

When it comes to any kind of a crash, Florida is considered a no-fault state, meaning regardless of who caused the crash, one’s own insurer will be the first from which one files for damages. This is down with the mandated Personal Injury Protection (or PIP) benefits one carries with their own insurer. (Motorcycles are the exception here.)

However, PIP only covers up to $10,000 in damages – and that assumes one requires emergent injury treatment; otherwise, $2,500 is the most one can expect from PIP. As anyone who has ever sustained injuries in a large truck crash can attest, this is a small fraction of the damages an occupant of a vehicle other than truck typically sustains, thanks primarily to the size differential of the two vehicles. The FMCSA in fact estimated even back in 2007 that the estimated cost of police-reported crashes involving trucks with a gross weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more was approximately $91,000. This incorporates not only one’s reduced life expectancy from the crash, but also their lost productivity plus the monetized value of pain, suffering, loss of life quality and family losses due to death or injury.

Inflation costs mean one can expect losses to be even higher today, as this was more than a decade ago at this point.

For this reason alone, trucking companies fight tooth-and-nail to reduce their own liability. Beyond that, firms seek to layer their liability by outsourcing everything from truck ownership to drivers. Battling through this bureaucratic red tape requires an experienced Fort Lauderdale truck accident law firm with ample resources and dedicated attorneys.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Analysis Division, March 2019

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Florida No. 1. for Pedestrian Accident Risk, Its Metro Areas Ranking 8 of Top 10, Feb. 6, 2019, Fort Lauderdale Truck Accident Attorney Blog

A study by Johns Hopkins University found that more a quarter of a million people in the U.S. die every year as a result of medical errors, and medical researchers said the actual figure could be as high as 440,000. Even the low estimate puts it at No. 3 for leading cause of death, behind heart disease and cancer. Medication overdose is what killed a two-year-old child in 2006 after an area pharmacist accidentally gave the child 20 times the recommended dose of sodium chloride. It was the girl’s last chemotherapy visit. She died three days later in Cleveland, Ohio. The pharmacist later served six months in jail for involuntary manslaughter.

Now in that same state, different hospital system, an intensive care doctor has been fired and nearly two dozen other employees have been placed on leave, including pharmacists and nurses. The Associated Press reports it all stemmed from the doctor who ordered dozens of patients be given potentially lethal doses of pain medication over the course of several years. Doses for another half a dozen patients were reportedly larger than necessary to simply provide comfort for the patients, but probably isn’t what caused their deaths.more

Medical malpractice wrongful death attorneys know one of the questions authorities are examining is whether the doctor was ordering these larger-than-necessary doses of medications with intent (possibly to illegally/without the family’s knowledge?) and also whether nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals failed to acknowledge the safeguards for approving and administering medication.

Family members for at least 16 of those former patients have filed wrongful death lawsuits alleging medical malpractice, with some complaints raising questions as to whether staffers improperly ordered/administered the drugs in an effort to hasten patients’ deaths absent their knowledge. For example in on instance, a 67-year-old was allegedly given a deadly dose of fentanyl, ordered by the doctor in question, administered by a nurse in July 2016.

In another case, plaintiffs say the chief pharmacy officer for the unit knew employees were prescribing, approving and administering medications that were excessive, yet the pharmacy officer did nothing to intervene. In that case, representative of decedent’s estate reported the patient, an 82-year-old woman, was given a dose of pain medication that was excessive and as a result died just minutes later.

Although these cases took place out-of-state, Fort Lauderdale wrongful death attorneys know they underscore how a single physician or lack of oversight procedures can potentially cause significant harm. An analysis published in 2016 in the Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives noted adverse drug events account for more than 3.5 million doctor visits and 1 million emergency room visits a year. Preventable medication errors reportedly impact 7 million patients and cost roughly $21 billion, with nearly one-third of patients hospitalized having at least one discrepancy in discharge medication reconciliation.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Hospital tightens drug access, rules after excessive dosages, Feb. 12, 2019, By Katele Franko, Associated Press

More Blog Entries:

Florida Jury Awards Nearly $500M for Wrongful Death in Shooting, Feb. 23, 2019, Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death Attorney Blog

Most Florida wrongful death or injury claims stemming from an assault or battery are filed against third parties for torts of negligence such as inadequate security. Liability insurers often will provide coverage (at least theoretically) for negligent acts that made plaintiff/decedent vulnerable to a criminal attack. Direct claims can be filed against a person for offenses like assault, false imprisonment, battery and homicide, meaning their personal assets and earnings will be subject to collection to fulfill the judgment. It is different than restitution, which is ordered by criminal courts.

In some cases, wrongful death attorneys will advise against pursuing an intentional tort claim against the attacker/wrongdoer unless he or she is independently wealthy. The reason is there may be no real gain even if the jury awards you a substantial sum. Plus, personal injury and wrongful death debts can sometimes be discharged in a subsequent bankruptcy proceeding. However, crime victims may have power in that scenario as a “creditor” in an adversary proceeding, asking the bankruptcy court to declare an ordinarily dischargeable debt instead nondischargeable. Injury or wrongful death verdicts resulting from the bankruptcy petitioner’s willful or malicious acts can be grounds for the court to deny discharge of this debt.more Intentional Tort Claims Are About Personal Accountability

In this case, decedent’s mother told The Florida-Times Union the verdict against the men (all but one of whom has since been released from prison, the other two guilty of accessory after the fact) was important because, “If (they) get a dime, it is not going to be (their) dime. It will be (her) dime.”

This argument that devolved into tragedy reportedly began over whether to open a car window. The group of friends had just left a nightclub. The alleged shooter pulled out a firearm and repeatedly demanded her silence. There were different stories about what happened from there. The shooter said the firearm “went off” by accident. Decedent was struck in the head and died almost instantly. The vehicle occupants took her body to a nearby wooded area to hide it and later lied to investigators. She was found days later by people searching for scrap metal.

The criminal cases took place separate and apart from the civil wrongful death lawsuits against three defendants in the car that night. Another claim against the owner of the vehicle, an aunt to one of the suspects, was settled prior to trial.

The court approved punitive damages, F.S. 768.72. As Fort Lauderdale wrongful death attorneys can explain, punitive damages are only permitted in injury cases where there is “clear and convincing evidence” the defendant was personally either guilty of intentional misconduct or gross negligence. Intentional misconduct is described as a situation wherein a defendant knew the conduct was wrong and that there was a high likelihood it would result in injury or damage and carried out the conduct anyway. (Punitive damages can also be imposed on employers, principles, corporations or other legal entities in some circumstances.)

Punitive damages alone in this case amounted to $200 million.

If you are injured in a violent criminal attack, we urge you to discuss your civil litigation options with an experienced personal injury or wrongful death attorney. Criminal prosecutors will pursue action against defendant for violating state or federal laws. Our wrongful death attorneys work solely for you.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Jacksonville jury awards almost $500 million to family of Kalil McCoy, Jan. 15, 2019, By Dan Scanlan, The Florida Times-Union

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When Your Florida DUI Injury Lawsuit Conflicts With Criminal Proceedings, Nov. 4, 2018, Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death Attorneys Blog

This is the allegation in a recent wrongful death lawsuit filed against Universal Studios Orlando by the family of a Guatemalan man who suffered a fatal heart attack in 2016 shortly after exiting a suspense-filled roller coaster-type ride featuring animatronics and 3D screens, the rider seated in a “truck” as they speed through the scenes of the recent King Kong films. Decedent, a man in his 50s, reportedly had prior heart problems – a risk factor outlined in prominent warning signs just before riders board. However, decedent was unable to read those warnings because they were written entirely in English, while he understood only Spanish.

His daughter, executive of his estate, relayed in her complaint that her father told his family he didn’t feel well after getting off the right. His wife opined maybe he had an upset stomach. He decided to sit out the next ride on a nearby bench while his wife and son boarded another ride. By they time they returned to him, he’d collapsed. After an alleged delay in rendering aid, crews transported the man from the park to a hospital, where he later died of a heart attack, according to the lawsuit.

As our Fort Lauderdale injury attorneys can explain, even though the man had a pre-existing heart condition and even if a heart attack may have been inevitable at some point, Universal could bear some liability if the ride exacerbated the man’s condition, the park/ ride manufacturer knew of the possibility and failed to adequately warn him.

We know the park/ ride manufacturer was aware of the potential danger because the sign posted in English expressly stated – at the very top – those with heart conditions and abnormal blood pressure should not ride. In a bold red banner at the top of the sign were the words, “Failure to follow posted guidelines may result in serious injury…”

Plaintiff’s attorneys will now need to answer whether the ride played a role in his heart attack and whether the park warned him adequate?

What Makes a Theme Park Ride Warning Adequate?

The question of whether the park had a responsibility to translate the warning to Spanish (or any other language) depends on the likelihood the park was going to be receiving Spanish-only guests.

There is ample evidence Florida theme parks like Universal, Disney and others specifically target international visitors with their marketing, with Spanish language advertisements and an easy “translate to Spanish” feature on their website for booking. They WANT those visitors at their parks and hotels. When they accept those international visitors (some 2 million visitors come to Orlando annually just from Latin American countries), they have a responsibility to make sure warnings are communicated to those guests.

Our Fort Lauderdale amusement park accident attorneys know there is likely little argument the park could make that such warning signs at ride entrances would be unreasonable. Prior cases determining warnings or disclosures be printed in all languages would really be specific to those matters because ultimately, the court will decide what is both reasonable and prudent for that individual defendant. However, it does not seem such a request would be unreasonable for a large Florida theme park, given that these are tourism meccas.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Lawsuit: Universal Orlando negligent in visitor’s death for warning signs only in English, Dec. 30, 2018, By David Oliver, USA Today

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Florida Injury Lawsuits and Social Media: Think Before you Post, Nov. 30, 2018, Florida Amusement Park Injury Attorney Blog

Courts in Florida have held that defendants in wrongful death lawsuits can invoke their Fifth Amendment right during the civil litigation process if compelling that testimony could potentially amount to self-incrimination in the pending criminal case. However, as noted in the 1976 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Baxter v. Palmgiano, the Fifth Amendment doesn’t guarantee negative inferences against a defendant in a civil lawsuit when they refuse to answer pertinent questions regarding the evidence against them. This doesn’t mean the judge or jury in the civil DUI injury lawsuit can simply point to defendant’s refusal to answer questions and declare that alone as basis for a decision in plaintiff’s favor. However, the court is entitled to draw inferences against a defendant who chooses to invoke the Fifth Amendment right to silence. In U.S. ex rel. Bilokumsky v. Tod in 1923, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, “silence is often evidence of the most persuasive character.”

Fort Lauderdale DUI injury lawyers can use this to their advantage in drunk driving civil litigation. How Long Does a DUI Injury Defendant’s Right to “Plead the Fifth” Last?

The supreme court in Alaska recently dealt with this issue in the case of Graham v. Durr. In that case, defendant struck and killed two pedestrians after losing control of his vehicle. He was arrested two counts each of second-degree murder and manslaughter and one count DUI.

Months later, the families of those pedestrians filed DUI wrongful death lawsuits against both the driver and his employer. Defendant refused to respond to a portion of plaintiff’s complaint, asserting his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. Soon thereafter in the criminal case, he pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder charges in a negotiated plea deal with prosecutors. He then did provide the civil lawsuit plaintiffs with initial disclosures, but still refused to provide the factual basis of his defense or the identity of those possibly responsible, again invoking the 5th Amendment. He was sentenced in the criminal lawsuit and, as plaintiff would later point out, participated in an interview with a probation officer wherein he admitted he caused the crash, submitted oral and written statements in that presentence report and expressed remorse at his sentencing hearing. He was sentenced to 32 years in prison.

A few months later, defendant filed a notice of appeal in the criminal case, arguing the judge made several evidentiary mistakes and his sentence was excessive. He requested his sentence be vacated and the matter remanded for resentencing. Around this time, plaintiffs sent a list of questions they wanted answered for the civil case discovery process. Defendant refused, citing his pending appeal and Fifth Amendment privilege. His attorney asked plaintiffs whether they would prefer to proceed with the deposition of defendant – knowing he would not answer key questions – or postpone it until the criminal case had played out entirely. That deposition didn’t happen.

Another discovery request sent by another plaintiff was again rejected on the basis of the 5th Amendment. That plaintiff moved to compel defendant to participate in discovery and refuse his privilege against self-incrimination as an excuse not to answer key questions. Plaintiffs argued that, No. 1, plaintiff wasn’t appealing a finding of guilt in the criminal case, only the sentencing. They noted that in Alaska, a defendant who is resentenced cannot receive a sentence that is more than the original. They argued defendant waived his right to plead the Fifth when he made statements of guilt at the sentencing hearing, and that even if he did retain his Fifth Amendment privilege, he should be compelled to testify anyway because there was no risk he’d be placing himself at greater risk in the criminal case appeal. Defendant argued he retained his Fifth Amendment right until his appeals were exhausted and he’d had a chance to seek all post-conviction relief.

The Alaska Supreme Court sided with defendant, at least with regard to retaining his right to silence until the appeals process was over. It declined to make a decision with regard to whether he was entitled to it until he had explored all post-conviction relief avenues, saying that issue wasn’t ripe.

Although this ruling has no direct impact on Florida DUI injury lawsuits, it is quite possible that if and when confronted with a similar conflict, the supreme court in Florida will look to the precedent set by sister courts in other states.

Call Fort Lauderdale DUI Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Graham v. Durr, Oct. 26, 2018, Alaska Supreme Court

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Appeals Court Backs Florida Injury Lawsuit Plaintiff, Ruling General Negligence, Not Medical Malpractice, Oct. 30, 2018, Fort Lauderdale DUI Injury Lawyer Blog

Many Fort Lauderdale wrongful death lawsuits stem from the fact that year after year, nursing homes are failing to prevent bedsores and other sorts of infections known to lead to sepsis. These patients endure, painful, stressful hospital treatments for sepsis, with injury and wrongful death attorneys often arguing it should never have happened in the first place.

The analysis examined data related to nursing home residents who were transferred to hospitals and later died. Of those, roughly 25,000 suffered from sepsis (among other conditions), costing medicare some $2 billion a year (based on four-years’ worth of information). Of those who suffered from sepsis, 1 in 5 did not survive. The scope of such a public health problem, researchers say, is “enormous.” Just a single sepsis-related hospital stay at the end of one nursing home patient’s life cost more than $400,000.

Sepsis in nursing home patients often starts with a condition that is entirely preventable, including bedsores, urinary tract infection sand pneumonia. Broward wrongful death attorneys recognize that pressure sores – particularly those in the latter stages – are something recognized as “never events,” as in, “they should never happen.” That’s because they are fully preventable when nursing home staffers follow the applicable standards of care for immobilized patients and turn them every two hours, in addition to taking other precautions. These strict standards are in place precisely because we know exactly what prevents these conditions. It’s up to nursing homes, particularly those (practically all) that receive federal funding for the promise of giving care that is in line with accepted care standards.

Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death from Sepsis Grounds for Litigation

The legal community in South Florida and in many other jurisdictions has taken an aggressive approach when it comes to nursing homes. This is based not on just what we see anecdotally as wrongful death attorneys in Fort Lauderdale, but on court data reviewed by the study authors. Plus, there are thousands of nursing homes cited every year by state inspectors who see first-hand the shortcomings in care at nursing homes. They too recognize the potential to cause serious harm. Their citations often pertain to known sepsis risks, such as bedsores, improper catheter use, unnecessary feeding tubes and failures in the nursing homes’ overall infection control procedures.

We know that small infections can quickly turn into big infections – and that results in unnecessary nursing home fatalities. That’s why more nursing home wrongful death lawsuits in Florida are being filed. It’s a systemic failure to curb these known risks.

Call Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011 for information on nursing home wrongful death litigation. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Sepsis Infections Take Fatal Toll on Seniors, Sept. 6, 2018, Kaiser Health News

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$8M Verdict Awarded for Wrongful Death of Disabled Group Home Resident, Oct. 28, 2018, Fort Lauderdale Nursing Home Wrongful Death Attorney Blog

The Miami Herald reports the women were attempting to make a left turn on Tea Table Bridge in the Florida Keys in March. As they waited to make their turn, the large truck hauling portable toilets hit them from behind, propelling their small car into the opposing lane, where it was then struck by the driver of a mobile home. The women were all wearing their seat belts, but according to state highway patrol investigators, it didn’t matter because the impact to the passenger side was so severe and so deep. It was so horrific that it was only once the troopers had cleared the scene they discovered the body of the fourth victim inside the vehicle. They had been visiting from Spain. The driver of the truck that rear-ended them was given a citation for careless driving.more

Fort Lauderdale truck accident attorneys are heartbroken at this stunning loss of vibrant young lives of those who sought only to appreciate the beauty of our state. As long-time wrongful death lawyers, we know full well the devastating injuries and losses that result when these types of large vehicles are involved in South Florida collisions. It comes down largely to the size differential between these large loads and the smaller passenger vehicles more ubiquitous on our roads.

It’s worth noting that with rear-end collisions, courts in Florida have held there is a presumption of negligence by the driver in the rear (though this presumption is rebuttable). As noted in the 2001 Florida Supreme Court decision of Clampitt v. Sales, even a merely “abrupt stop” isn’t enough to overcome the presumption of negligence, as drivers are expected to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front of them. Typically, the stop made by the vehicle in front must be “arbitrary.” In this case, a vehicle stopped to wait for a safe time to make a left turn is not stopped “arbitrarily.”

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reports in its most recent Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts report that in 2016, a total of 4,440 large trucks and buses were involved in deadly crashes, which was a 2 percent uptick from the year before. It’s also nearly a 30 percent increase from the statistical low of 3,430 in 2009.

Of the roughly 475,000 police-reported crashes involving large trucks, less than 1 percent were fatal, but that still amounted to nearly 3,900 deaths. More than 80 percent of these deaths were those not in the truck, but rather those in passenger vehicles, on bicycles or walking. Further, 22 percent – or 104,000 – resulted in injury. Anytime large trucks are involved, the resulting injuries are likely to be serious, mostly thanks to the disparate size of the vehicles involved. This is exacerbated if one or both vehicles involved is speeding or traveling too fast for the road conditions.

In this case, according to the Miami Herald, the European victims, all 30- and 31-year-old women, were killed on a two-mile stretch of the Keys highway where accidents are so frequent, the Monroe County Sheriff asked the Florida Department of Transportation to reduce the speed limit from 55 mph to 45 mph. FDOT initially denied the request, but later agreed to lower it – for now – to 50 mph. The sheriff speculated the reason for the high number of crashes is that it’s a popular spot for people to pull over to launch boats, take pictures, swim, fish, paddle and picnic.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

‘Equivalent to manslaughter.’ Families of Spanish tourists sue truck driver, employer, July 6, 2018, By David Goodhue, The Miami Herald

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Florida Shooting Victims File Venue and Event Liability Claims, Sept. 14, 2018, Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death Attorney Blog